Stick with Me
by alicemorganss
Summary: After a couple days filled with Henry Wilcox, Arthur just needed some time with his wife. Slight mentions of "In the Light." Joan/Arthur.


Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. I am simply borrowing them.

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He bypassed her assistant with a wave of his hand as he saw the younger woman stand up. The assistant gave him that look, the one that women made all the time if they were interrupted, but let him bypass her. He smiled to himself as he saw her door was already open.

He leaned against the doorway, watching her silently as she read over a file on her desk. He noticed how her hand absentmindedly moved towards the Jelly Beans in the glass container next to her.

His shoe squeaked quietly against the other mate as he moved his foot over the other to cross his legs. He cursed himself as noticed her head had shot up from the case file.

"Arthur" she noted, closing the case file in front of her.

He took that as an invitation to join her.

"Joan" he said, sitting down in one of her visitor's chairs.

"What's up," she asked, noting his tired posture.

"Just trying to relieve myself of Henry Wilcox Day," he said, looking up as she came around her desk, just as he had the other day.

She sighed and placed her hands in her lap as she leaned against the desk.

"You want some dinner," she asked, after a moment of silence.

"You asking me" he said, looking around the room comically.

She tried to hide her smile at his antics, but found herself smiling anyway.

"Yes, dinner" she said, looking at the clock, "9:30."

He looked at his watch and noted the time, "I suppose."

"Let me just get my stuff, I'll meet you at your office" she told him, standing to her full height and retreating back behind her desk, already packing up her things.

Arthur nodded and walked out the door, waving to her assistant as he left to pack up his things to head home.

Joan had her things packed in her briefcase, grabbed her keys out of her drawer and slid into her overcoat. Moving out of her office she locked the door behind her.

"Leaving ma'am" her assistant asked.

"Yes, I'll be heading home. You should as well," she told her assistant.

"Thank you ma'am" her assistant said, "See you in the morning."

Joan nodded in agreement and headed out of the DPD towards Arthur's office.

He was waiting for her outside his office, his assistant already gone.

"Ready" she asked, taking his briefcase from him as he slipped on his overcoat, then handing it back as they started walking out.

They bypassed everyone quickly, nodding to those who said their good evenings, not wanting to get stuck in the middle of something as they tried to reach the parking lot.

He unlocked the car doors remotely, holding the door open as she reached the passenger side of the car. Handing him her briefcase before she slid in, she gave him a smile.

Once she was in her seat, he shut the door, rounding towards the driver's side he threw both of their briefcases in the seat behind his, and then opened the door to his side.

As they navigated towards the gates out of headquarters, he rolled down his window, waving his good bye to the night guards. Rolling up his window as he passed the gates, they were enclosed in the deep tinted windows of the BMW again.

He noted Joan was looking out the window, and kept to himself, turning on the radio to mask the silence of the car.

As he pulled into the bistro's valet parking lot, he looked back to make sure both briefcases were locked securely.

He handed his keys to the valet, and stepped up to the sidewalk as the other valet opened Joan's door.

As she stepped out, he offered his arm, which she took as she stepped onto the sidewalk.

"Briefcases secure," she asked as they walked towards the bistro entrance.

He nodded as a hostess opened the doors, and welcomed them.

"Good evening" the hostess said, "Right this way Mr. Campbell."

He let Joan precede him as she let go of his arm and followed the hostess towards their table.

"Thank you" Joan said as he pulled her chair out, and then sat close to her as the hostess each gave them a menu.

Their waiter came over, he ordered a scotch, a bone in rib eye, rare, and she ordered the white wine and salmon.

She smiled to herself, but he caught it.

"What" he asked.

"Just a few weeks ago we were here, doing this same thing" she noted.

"Its another constant" he told her as their drinks were placed in front of them.

She took a sip of her wine and looked at him, carefully inspecting him.

He noticed her watching him, but said nothing, instead reaching for her hand that held the stem of her wine glass.

"I'll say what I said before, I want this to work between us," he told her, looking into her eyes, as she looked down at their cell phones on the table.

She laughed to herself as a minute went by without either phone ringing.

"Last time the phone went off" she noted.

"This time is different," he told her, this time she wasn't accusing him of cheating on her and having illicit dinners with women he worked with.

"Yes, it is" she answered.

As their food was brought out, they released each others hands and ate in a comfortable silence.

When their dinner was finished, their car was brought around and he helped her into it, giving their valet a tip, he nodded and slipped into the driver's side heading for home.

He pulled into the driveway, waiting for the gate to open. Once it opened, he pulled into the garage, careful to give Joan enough room to get out between her car and his.

She got out before him, and he reached for both briefcases, slipping them into one hand easily as she waited for him to enter the house.

He noticed her weary posture and once inside he placed both briefcases down on the table in the entryway.

"You want to talk about it," she asked, watching him as he shrugged off his overcoat.

"Talk about what" he asked.

"Today, Henry, whatever" Joan shrugged, moving out of her own overcoat as well.

He moved close to her, grabbing her overcoat from her grasp.

"Maybe later" he told her, watching her shoulders sag.

"Alright, I'm going to take a bath now" she said, tugging on his tie as he stood in front of her.

He nodded and watched her leave, following her to the foyer, watching as she climbed the stairs to the master bedroom.

Hanging up their coats on the hat rack, he smiled to himself, moving back into the kitchen.

Opening a bottle of wine from the wine chiller, he poured two glasses, and moved up the stairs himself.

Setting the glasses on the bureau, he removed his suit jacket and tie, along with his shoes.

Picking up both glasses, he knocked carefully on the partially open door to their bathroom.

After hearing her permission to come in, he pushed the door open so he fit through and squinted as his eyes adjusted to the semi darkness of the bathroom. There were candles lit in sections of the bathroom and the lights were dimmed to their lowest setting.

She had put her hair up in a bun, keeping it out of the water. The bubbles in the tub were over flowing, and it smelled a bit like the rainfall outside.

"Hi" she said, looking over her shoulder at him.

"Hi" he told her, sitting down carefully beside the tub, placing the wine glasses to the side.

"Care to join me" she asked, moving slightly to face him as he sat down.

"Absolutely" he said, though he didn't move, instead he looked at the tiles beside him.

She smiled and drew one hand out of the water, reaching towards his chin.

She drew his face up to look at hers and saw something in his eyes she hadn't seen in a while.

"Have I thanked you yet," he asked quietly.

"For what" she said, pulling her hand back into the water.

"For being here, for being you, being my wife" he told her.

She smiled at him and if it wasn't so dim in the bathroom, he might have seen her blush.

She reached a wet hand out again and pulled his head towards hers, kissing him gently.

He pulled back and unbuttoned his long sleeved shirt, throwing it to the floor behind him.

He pulled her into him this time, and he absently noted he was getting bubbles in his hair and heard the water sloshing around.

He moved his mouth lower, kissing the side of her neck as she gave him access.

She hummed in appreciation and asked him coyly, "You want to wash my back?"

He lifted his mouth from her collarbone and she felt him smile against her skin.

"Tease" he said, lifting his head towards hers, gazing into her eyes.

"Absolutely" she smirked, running a soapy, wet hand against his undershirt, getting it soaked.

He laughed as he resumed kissing down her neck, and she hugged him as her upper body was lifted out of the bath.

The wine and the rest of his clothes sat forgotten at one end of the bathtub as they sat together in one end of the claw foot tub.

She absentmindedly played with his fingers as they rested against her skin.

"I want this to work too," she said, twisting his wedding ring against his finger as she said the words.

He kissed the top of her head and smiled into her hair, closing his hand against hers and squeezing her fingers.

"That's all I've ever wanted," he told her honestly.

She smiled, even though he couldn't see her.

"Good" she told him, closing her fingers around his.

Fin.


End file.
